SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick discusses how the Pelicans and Warriors are in the drivers' seat, but Golden State is holding its breath after Kevin Durant rolled his ankle late in the fourth quarter.
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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant injured his ankle in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.(Photo: Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports)

As if it’s not challenging enough having Steph Curry on the shelf with a Grade 2 MCL sprain that is likely to keep him out of the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio, the Golden State Warriors lost Kevin Durant and Shaun Livingston to ankle injuries in the span of 33 fourth-quarter seconds during their Game 3 win at the AT&T Center on Thursday.

Durant went down with 4:36 remaining, when resident Spurs pest Patty Mills pressed him near halfcourt and he reached for a loose ball while turning the ankle. Durant headed for the locker room soon thereafter.

Livingston went down at the 4:03 mark, and Mills was involved yet again. He lunged for the ball as Livingston brought it up court, creating contact that led to Livingston’s turned left ankle. Livingston, who has been helping fill Curry’s absence at the point guard spot along with the likes of Andre Iguodala and Quinn Cook, also went to the locker room before the Warriors’ 110-97 win was over.

Steve Kerr told reporters postgame that the injuries were both sprains, adding "I think they'll both be OK."

Durant expressed similar sentiments, saying, "It's cool. I'm good. I shouldn't have been playing around with the ball anyway, so I blame that on myself."

The game was overshadowed by the Wednesday death of Erin Popovich, wife of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Gregg Popovich was not on the sideline Thursday to be with his family. Assistant Ettore Messina took the head coaching reins in the loss.

“It was a perfect setup for a letdown,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “I don’t say that to be insensitive at all to the situation. We all take this basketball stuff serious and we want to win, but when you start talking life and death, a game doesn’t matter. But yet we still wanted to come out and try to win the game.”

The Warriors' win puts the Spurs on the brink of elimination, but longtime guard Tony Parker said that's not at the top of his mind.

“It’s hard to think about that for me, personally, right now because there is other stuff bigger than basketball,” Parker said.

With the victory, the Warriors improved to 19-1 in their past 20 playoff games, tying the record mark of the 2001-2002 three-peat Los Angeles Lakers

They now lead the series 3-0, meaning everyone – from Curry on down – is about to get plenty of rest if they can finish the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday in San Antonio.

April 14: Recording artist Drake reacts to a play as he wears a jersey in honor of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash during Game 1 between the Raptors and Wizards. Dan Hamilton, USA TODAY Sports